Marijuana-Friendly Coffee Bar Opens in Colorado

A marijuana-friendly coffee and tea shop has opened in Lafayette, Colo., outside Boulder, after Gov. John Hickenlooper signed Amendment 64 into law, legalizing the recreational use of the drug.

The Hive Co-Op charges $5 for admittance, and allows customers to light up, provided they aren’t toting more than an ounce of marijuana, which owner Veronica Carpio — who previously ran a Lafayette-based dispensary — prefers to call cannabis.

Here’s more on the Hive Co-op from a recent profile in the Denver Post:

Carpio said she informally started the co-op after Gov. John Hickenlooper signed Amendment 64 into law, which legalized recreational use of marijuana. She wants the co-op to be a neighborhood gathering spot where people can unwind, have a cup of coffee, smoke a joint and feel surrounded by good, healing energy, she said.

“I was born on 4/20, so cannabis is kind of part of my destiny,” said Carpio, 34.

Mark Heath, an artist who helped designed the cafe’s interior, likened the social experience of using marijuana to that of drinking coffee. “People have been getting together to drink coffee together for 200-some years,” Heath told the paper. “This is an extension of that.”

The full story: Denver Post